Autumn 2018 Newsletter

Autumn 2018 Newsletter

After more than six years as the CEO, Aart Schuurman Hess is leaving the Greater Vancouver Food Bank to pursue the next phase of his career. Aart’s mark on the Food Bank will be long lasting, most notably for his tireless work toward improving the quality of food and reducing wait times and long line-ups. By the end of June 2018, 67% of the food we distributed was wholesome or fresh and Food Bank members reported experiencing shorter wait times at our Community Food Hubs and distribution centres!

Aart will also be remembered through the Community Food Hub model. His goal was to create warm and welcoming spaces where people could connect with their community, spend time with each other and with GVFB volunteers. With 13 Community Food Hubs across our four catchment areas the dream is well on its way to being realized!

Over the next few months Aart won’t be far! We are fortunate to have him as a special advisor to the Food Bank to ensure a smooth transition into the New Year.

Change is as good as a rest, they say and we wish Aart all the best and perhaps a little bit of rest!

North Burnaby Neighbourhood House

What is a neighbourhood house?

A Neighbourhood House is a volunteer driven community based social service agency that provides equal access to programs and services in response to identified community needs. It is a place in the community that provides a warm and welcoming environment for people young and old from diverse backgrounds. Neighbourhood Houses exists worldwide and have been in the Lower Mainland for over 100 years.

Warm and welcoming environments are just the kind of places the GVFB looks for when determining a great fit for a community food hub. Simone Brandl, program director at the North Burnaby Neighbourhood House (NBNH) describes the Friday Food Hub as a great fit for NBNH programming. The neighbourhood house is really a kind of “one stop shop where people can feel at home with an amazing collection of community members” “an open space for the community kind of like the neighbourhood living room. Having the Friday Food Hub just adds to what we can offer the community”

The inaugural Community Food Hub took place on October 5th with a great deal of excitement all around.

German Apple Cake – from the GVFB Test Kitchen

Directions

Serves 12

In a large bowl, beat eggs and oil until smooth

Add everything but the apples and mix well

Fold in the grated apple

Pour into a greased 9 x 13 pan

Bake at 350F for 30-35 minutes

2 eggs

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 cup sugar

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 cups grated apples, skin on. (about 3 apples)

Events

As we head into the holiday season we are incredibly fortunate to be supported by a number of campaigns, events and
food drives! Below are just a few:

Event Report – September to November

3rd Annual Citywide Food Drive – thanks to the BC Thanksgiving Food Drive Team and Save-On-Foods our communities on the
North Shore, Vancouver, New Westminster and Burnaby raised 33,588 pounds of food and $19,193 for a total of $106,
521.80. Amazing!!6th Annual REEL Thanksgiving overwhelming support from the film and television community and some healthy competition
raised a total of $223,063.20 in just under two weeks for the 27,500 people who access the GVFB’s service each and
every week!15th Annual CANstruction Vancouver 10 teams of students, engineers, architects and designers built incredible
structures out of cans of nutritious food with the theme “It Takes a Village” for inspiration. The teams raised a
whopping 22,873lbs plus $3347.35. Special thanks to our host sponsor Lougheed Town Centre with many more companies
stepping up to support this unique initiative! Shout out to the 60 volunteers with whom we simply can’t pull of events
like this!

Announcements

We are pleased to share our 2018 Community Report! Download your copy here.

Partner Spotlight

Thanks to a generous donation of 5 weeks of 2% milk for our members from The Minute Maid Company Canada we were able to cancel our milk order for December and save $9,000! Every one of our agencies will be receiving fresh milk!

Alex and Craig messing around with milk in the warehouse

Get Involved

The Greater Vancouver Food Bank offers a variety of ways to get involved from virtual food drives, gifts in kind, monthly giving, volunteering and event hosting. Learn how you can be part of providing access to healthy food, education and training to those most in need in our community.